Room 703
Apartment 703, 442 Arclight Avenue
Elysium
So the victim's name is Christina?
Yeah.
...
Creepy, isn't it?
Just a name.
You know that's not what I mean.
She looks way too much like you...
...A coincidence. Obviously.
Moineau shakes her head, letting the subject die in the heavy silence.
Shall I continue?
Based on our preliminary examination, the estimated time of death is between 7:30 PM and 7:50 PM.
The victim sustained multiple wounds, several showing signs of field treatment. The technique suggests self-administered care.
The fatal injury is a single, clean puncture from back to front, piercing the core. A precise and efficient strike.
This wound is distinct from the others. Here, both her bionic dermis and internal mechanics show thermal degradation.
The forensic investigator passes over a photograph.
This indicates the weapon had either a high-temperature blade or an energy edge.
The remaining wounds are consistent with an attack from this mechanoid.
She points to the mechanoid remains on the floor.
These are projectile impacts, and these are lacerations from its integrated blade.
Mechanoids are supposed to be non-hostile. The Elysium Mechanical Production Act mandates prime directives against harming humans.
...This leads us to conclude...
Teddy steps forward and kneels before Christina. The forensic investigator's report fades into indistinct noise.
Christina's lifeless eyes stare back, her face a mirror of Teddy's own.
For a moment, Teddy feels as if she is the one lying on the floor.
A coldness floods her body, her core no longer generating heat. With vital fluid draining from her frame, her vision blurs, doubles, then slowly dissolves into darkness.
She is trapped here, unable to move. She witnesses it all: patrol officers knocking, breaching the door, and establishing a perimeter with police tape. She feels the forensic investigator inspecting her wounds, taking photographs.
"
"
An overwhelming sense of absurdity floods her. For an infinitesimal moment, the entire world feels like a fabrication.
What were you looking at... Christina?
Teddy.
Emm.
I mean, she was looking at "teddy."
That joke is in seriously poor taste, Moineau.
Moineau points behind Teddy. Only then does she notice the teddy bear sitting on the table behind her.
Teddy steps forward, picking up the stuffed bear to examine it.
Just an ordinary teddy bear...
Teddy? What a weird ID.
It's not weird at all!
Fine, fine, you win. It's not that bad.
What's the problem?
...It's nothing. Just a headache.
Did you check the building's surveillance? The time of death was recent. The killer can't have gone far. The latest footage should show something.
I did a quick review. No anomalies.
What's your take on that mechanoid?
It's a "Guardian III". A civilian-grade auto security unit manufactured by Rokubishi Electric. They're usually bought in bulk by corporations. Supposedly armed with non-lethal deterrents only.
"Non-lethal."
She repeats Moineau's words with dripping sarcasm.
Two possibilities. One, someone rewrote its core directives, and it would take a real expert to manage that.
The second is a fundamental design flaw that made it malfunction and attack autonomously.
We're paying Rokubishi Electric a visit.
Judging by the scene, there was more than one mechanoid here.
Teddy surveys the chaotic disarray of the apartment.
Yes, at least two.
As she responds to Teddy, Moineau connects her hacking module to Christina's computer.
I'll access her terminal and see if I can find any leads.
Alright. I'll question the neighbors.
Knock, knock.
Teddy knocks on the door of apartment 704. It's opened by a man whose expression is a landscape of deep trouble.
Officer...
Hello, I'm Inspector Teddy, Elysium Crime Investigation Bureau, badge number ED08. I have some questions about the incident.
You're the one who called it in, correct?
Yeah.
Can you describe exactly what you heard?
Well... I was eating when I heard someone fighting next door. At first, I thought it was an action movie.
But then the walls shook. That's when I knew it was a real fight. I was too scared to do anything...
Do you recall the exact time this happened?
I checked the clock. It's stuck in my head. 7:28 PM.
Then I heard glass breaking, so I looked out...
And what did you see?
There was... this thing. A shadow like a monster, glowing red, then it just vanished. I thought I was seeing things.
After that, everything went quiet. That was around 7:35.
Our log shows your call came in at 8:12. You waited quite a while. Can you explain the delay?
...I didn't want any trouble. I wasn't going to call at all, but that... thing...
I couldn't get that shadow out of my head. The more I thought about it, the more it terrified me, so I finally called.
Knock, knock.
Hello, I'm Inspector Teddy, Elysium Crime Investigation Bureau, badge number ED08. I have some questions about the incident.
What happened? I was asleep.
Wait, did someone die? Then I'm definitely using this to get my rent lowered!
Didn't hear a thing... Don't know anything...
Get back in here and make my damn dinner!
A man's voice calls from inside the apartment.
Shut up, you worthless piece of trash!
As a cup explodes against the floor inside the apartment, the tired woman's veins bulge like cords across her forehead.
This time I won't hold back!
You couldn't take me on your best day!
I never should have married you!
Sorry. As you can see, I'm about to be a little preoccupied.
I didn't hear anything because I was busy trading blows with him.
Oh, that girl.
She kept odd hours.
You knew her?
Not really. Didn't even catch her name.
My own schedule's a mess because of work.
He gestures toward the livestreaming equipment in his room.
I'm a streamer. You know how it is. Once did a 43-hour marathon.
Anyway... Point is, a few times when I went out for food in the early morning, I'd run into her in the hall. Sometimes heading out, sometimes coming back. Always looked... guarded.
Oh... right. I think she was going to the docks.
What makes you say that?
I'm sensitive to smells. Allergies, you know. Once, in the elevator, I caught the distinct scent of the sea on her. The specific kind you only get at the docks.
She must have uncovered the truth about this world. It was suicide!
?
Listen, this world isn't real! We were all abducted by the Mi-Go Yeti from the Centaurus constellation!
Those fungal crabs are disguising themselves as humans, living among us!
We're all just brains in jars!
Teddy rubs her temples in frustration, heading back into Apartment 703.
Get anything useful?
Apparently, this world isn't real.
?
And we're all just brains in jars being experimented on by Mi-Go Yeti.
??
Oh, and these Yeti? They're apparently fungal crab-things.
What are you even talking about?
Putting the cosmic horror aside, the victim kept irregular hours, went out frequently, and had ties to the docks.
I found the same.
Moineau gestures for Teddy to come over to the computer.
Look at this mail.
She renewed it. The facility is close to the docks.
Public Stowage
Near the Docks
Elysium
The vast, three-story building seems to stretch on forever.
After questioning the facility manager, they learned that Christina's unit—registered under the name AAABear—is tucked away in a corner of the first floor.
This is the place.
Moineau steps forward. She slides the manager's spare key into the lock and, with a sharp pull, hauls the rattling door up on its tracks.
Not even an electronic lock?
Maybe that's precisely why Christina chose it. No digital trail.
The storage unit yawns open, revealing the owner's private space. Dominating the wall is a long table, with a cork bulletin board hanging above.
The board is plastered with photographs of Elysium's buildings, all connected by an intricate web of red and yellow threads.
At the web's center is a picture of the central building.
A sticky note beside it poses a single, cryptic question: "Real or fake?"
On the table below, a data chip rests amid other scattered items.
Apparently, the unit also serves as a sparse living quarters, furnished with a folding bed and refrigerator.
While the floor is a jumble of surveying and excavation tools: a spirit level, an inclinometer, a shovel, a pickaxe, a hammer, and a small handheld drill.
Teddy inserts the chip into her terminal. Instantly, a holographic interface materializes in the air.
Various statistical data about Elysium appears, methodically arranged and categorized.
City water supply stats... population census data... public transport operational costs...
Huh?
Distracted from her examination of the tools, Moineau's head snaps up, her face etched with puzzlement.
That's what's on the chip.
Why was she collecting all this data?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Teddy murmurs, her attention clearly elsewhere. Her gaze cuts through the holographic data, fixing on the sticky note at the center of the evidence board.
There's a hidden passage under this refrigerator.
Moineau shoves the refrigerator aside, pulls back the carpet, and reveals a hinged metal trapdoor beneath.
Shall we go down?
Okay.
